


Exile

by snapefan520



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Family Fluff, Kylo Ren Redemption, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-01
Updated: 2019-02-01
Packaged: 2019-10-20 06:39:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17617421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snapefan520/pseuds/snapefan520
Summary: Kylo Ren has been exiled for his part in the war.  But exile hasn't been too lonely.





	Exile

Enjoy!

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Five years.

 

Well, five standard years, three months, two weeks, and four days. Not that I'm counting.

 

_Who am I kidding?_ I'd count the seconds if I had a way to keep track of them.

 

Its not an easy life here. The nearest settlement is several days by speeder (which I don't have), and is somewhat primitive. Most of the residents are farmers, and they have little to do with other worlds. I was pretty much given a primitive cabin and some livestock and told to make due. I tend creatures that resemble sheep... they are my primary source of food. A few small crops supply the rest. If only my former subordinates could see me now. _Kriff._

 

The resistance contacts check in with me once a week or so. I get an in-person once a month to get supplies that aren't available on this planet.

 

But its better than the alternative. The rest of the First Order officers were either sentenced to life on a prison planet, or given a death sentence. (I wish I could have seen Hux's execution. I heard he broke down and cried like a baby begging for his life. A loser even at the end.)

 

I was lucky because I saw the light. ( _What an ironic turn-of-phrase.)_ Two years of a Force bond with Rey will do that to you. Her positivity was either going to kill me or turn me, and I guess you could say she gradually wore me down. That, and Hux was kriffing crazy. You can't rule the galaxy with torture, and the tenuous control the First Order had over the planets was slipping. Hux had ordered the mass execution on several planets right before I defected. I didn't want to be associated with that in any form or fashion. I might have been in the wrong on many things, but I wasn't a monster.

 

Well, _that_ much of a monster.

 

When I finally slipped away from the First Order, I took all of our plans and schematics with me. Giving that to the Resistance is probably what saved my life. That, and the defense of one stubborn scavenger and General Organa. (I'm still not comfortable calling her mother after everything I put her through. Our relationship is tenuous and strained, but we are both trying.)

 

But life has a funny sense of timing. What started out being one of the lowest points of my life (the other being Han, which I'm still trying to deal with in my own way), took an upward turn fairly quickly.

 

No one in the Resistance wanted to contact me after my exile, let alone come planet-side and visit me once a month to check on me. So the task ended up with Rey. She was the only one who didn't turn it down. (Bravery or stupidity... you decide.)

 

She would contact me weekly, then do a visit monthly. I was quite curt with her the first few months. I wasn't exactly appreciative of my current living arrangements, and I let her know it every chance I got. We would have verbal spats that would have made a stormtrooper cry, yet she just took it.

 

One time, I was so awful to her, she suggested sparring to get it out of my system. I asked how in the hell we were supposed to spar without lightsabers (like they'd let me anywhere near a lightsaber now), and she found two sticks. It was amazing how sparring with her started to deplete all the hate and anger I had stored away.

 

After a few months of sparring, we started having much more pleasant visits. She would bring me holos to watch, or games to play (chess being one of my favorites.) We still had our Force bond, but we had greatly dampened it... a mutual agreement... so that we each could move on with our lives.

 

The Force had other ideas. (The Force _always_ had other ideas.) Once we were getting along better, we were connected at some of the most awkward times. (Lets just say we've seen each other in various stages of undress... and worse. Cold showers became one of my best friends.)

 

About two years ago, everything changed. We were sparring, but got caught in a downpour. Neither of us would concede, so we kept on. The ground kept getting muddier and muddier, and that's when Rey lost her footing. I saw my chance and pinned her. I don't know if it was the rain making her clothing cling to her, or the expression she gave me, but I kissed her.

 

I was fully expecting a slap or a shove, or at the very least to be called one of the many derogatory terms Rey has thrown at me over the years.

 

But to my surprise, she returned the kiss.

 

I'm not going to get into too many details, but over the next few months, our relationship progressed. Both physically and emotionally. Apparently she had been feeling the same way as I had, but we were both too unsure to share it with each other. The kiss was the start of something amazing.

 

Something amazing we couldn't share with the rest of the world. She was the 'Last Jedi' and the face of the Resistance (and the new new fledgling government.) I was one of the most hated men in history, probably only surpassed by my grandfather and the former Emperor.

 

Rey started to come up with excuses to visit me planet-side more than once a month. Although I think many of those Resistance friends of hers couldn't find their backside with a map and both hands, I'm pretty sure the General was on to us. But we made it work and I had some of the best days of my life.

 

So imagine my shock when almost a year ago, communication with Rey had stopped, without rhyme or reason. General Organa had even come to see me and asked what I had done to Rey. I told her I had no idea, that she wouldn't confide in me. She gave me a peculiar, but knowing smile, and said she'd handle it.

 

Apparently my mother has this crazy knack for being both nosy and intuitive, and she basically brought Rey to me and told us to work out this 'lovers' spat'. We both stared at each other, not knowing where to start, but we definitely wanted to wait until the General had left.

 

That's when I got the shock of my life.

 

Rey was pregnant.

 

_Kriff._

 

Its not that I didn't want children, but the circumstances were less than ideal. For both of us. Contraception wasn't something I gave any thought to, and both of us were a bit lacking on _that_ part of our education. ( _Gee... I wonder why?_ )

 

Rey had not wanted to confide in me until she had some time to process it. She wanted the baby, but figuring out how to make it work was the problem. I was just ecstatic that she wanted MY baby. Its not like I come from a line that's remotely emotionally stable.

 

The official story is that the father is uninvolved, and General Organa has somewhat adopted Rey to help her raise the baby. What's that saying about the truth is usually hidden somewhere in the lies? The irony isn't lost on me.

 

And the General has been a wonderful grandmother to the baby. I think she had given up on that possibility years ago. Her health had declined in recent years, but she's rebounded quite a bit with a grandchild to help raise. Its been good for her, I think.

 

I was excited when we found out it was a girl, but Rey was terrified. With her harsh life growing up, she wasn't so sure she knew how to raise a girl, but I knew she could do it. Rey can do anything she sets her mind to.

 

Naming was another story. I didn't want any familial names. I meant it when I said I wanted the past to die... we didn't need another Padme, Leia, or even female versions of the names Han, Luke, or Anakin. I wanted my daughter to have a name with no associations, good or bad. It was going to be hard enough being the daughter of Kylo Ren and the great granddaughter of Darth Vader.

 

We were actually discussing the new Republic when her name just happened to fall in to place. Rey had been talking about having faith in the new government, that it would all work out. Just like she had faith in us.

 

_Faith._

 

It was perfect.

 

Faith is now a little over a year old, and she and Rey make living on this planet worth it. She now tries to visit at least twice a month... more often if she can get someone to cover her responsibilities.

 

Faith is the most beautiful baby. She has Rey's hair and smile, but unfortunately got my ears. Rey says she'll grow into them, but I have my doubts. She just started walking a few months ago, and we can't turn our backs for even one second.

 

The Force is strong in her already. Her temper tantrums, rare as they are, have already shown some accidental use of the force. Rey will have to do most of the teaching since I'm not allowed a lightsaber (or even supposed to use the Force... but its not like Rey is going to report that.)

 

I stop my musings as I hear the familiar sound of the Falcon landing. Of all the ships in the galaxy, this is the one Rey prefers. It bothered me at first, but I'm trying to learn to deal with it. My temper has always been my biggest flaw, but I'm working on it. Not just for my sake, but for Rey and Faith as well.

 

My heart swells as I see my girls coming towards me. They are the best thing that ever happened to me. I don't deserve this life. Its not easy, but its still so much better than I could have imagined.

 

Although exile means being alone, I am far from it.

 

Thank the Maker.

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> So... this little one shot was totally inspired by THAT photo of Adam Driver with a lamb. Google it... you won't be disappointed.
> 
> I hope you enjoy this little bit of fluff. I'm trying to get back into writing, so I'm starting with some short little one shots.
> 
> N


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